


Disintegration

by schweet_heart



Series: Merlin Fic [139]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Caring, Fallen Angels, Hurt Merlin, M/M, Mutual Pining, Protective Arthur, Protectiveness, Sacrifice, Self-Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 20:46:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15871440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schweet_heart/pseuds/schweet_heart
Summary: His wings were burning.MMM 2018 (September) Prompt Day #1.





	Disintegration

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt Day 1: Sunday, September 2nd**
> 
>  
> 
> Path I: Wings [[image](https://78.media.tumblr.com/42d7082c3860e08c608d7cc722870f71/tumblr_pdnfppNwe31w3cu63o1_1280.jpg)]  
> Path II: Your favourite smile.

 

His wings were burning.

 

Below, he could see the lights of the city rushing closer, stabbing towards him out of the clouds like pinpricks. His eyes hurt, tears streaming down his face as the bitter wind whipped past his cheeks. It was cold—so cold. Ice crystals were forming over his exposed skin, slow-moving blood slicing like needles through his hands and feet. He wondered if this was what being born felt like—or perhaps death might be a closer analogy. He was awake, aware as he had not been in centuries; but he was also— _ending._

 

He pulled out of the dive when he could see the individual windows ahead, wings opening with a loud crack that barely slowed his rapid descent. Already some of the larger flight feathers were gone, swirling into the sky like so much ash, and the pain was spreading as the fire began to consume the pinions and coverts, creeping its way towards his unprotected skin.

 

He landed awkwardly on the roof of Arthur’s building, stumbling to his knees and rolling towards the lip at the outer edge, unable to slow his momentum enough to stop. Air punched out of him, skin stinging where it scraped against stone. He lay where he had fallen, wedged on his side against the concrete barrier, and stared up at the stars.

 

They were so much further away than he remembered.

 

“Merlin?” Somewhere behind him, a door banged open, and running footsteps crossed the roof towards him. “Merlin, what are you doing here? You were supposed to stay away.”

 

“Hurts,” was all Merlin managed to say. He was trembling now, gasping as waves of nausea rolled through him. He could smell everything, the concrete, the rain, the street below. “I don’t—”

 

“Shh, it’s okay.”

 

Gentle hands caught hold of his shoulders and then Arthur was helping him sit up, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Merlin shuddered at the contact, as much because of the unexpected warmth as because of its tenderness, and he heard the sudden hiss Arthur made through his teeth.

 

“You’re freezing,” he said, thumbing the moisture from Merlin’s cheeks. “We need to get you inside.”

 

“In a minute,” Merlin said. He caught at Arthur’s wrist to keep him in place, focusing on his breathing. He’d never had to breathe before, not like this, and the air tasted—bitter. Sharp. The sickness in his stomach was beginning to ease, and he found that he was able to open his eyes.

 

Arthur was kneeling beside him, his gaze full of fear as he catalogued Merlin’s various scrapes and bruises. He was shaking too, mouth compressed into a thin line. “What happened to you?”

 

“Fell,” Merlin said softly. He let go of Arthur’s arm to stroke his face, feeling the heavy, solid pulse of his all-too-human heart where it turned over in his chest. “Wanted to see you.”

 

“Idiot,” Arthur breathed, holding onto him.

 

But it was worth any amount of hellfire to see Arthur’s smile again.

 


End file.
